Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in Meritage Homes Corporation $MTH

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC acquired 26,431 shares of Meritage Homes worth approximately $2.2 million, while other institutional investors also built positions. Hedge funds and institutions collectively own 98.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with five Buy ratings and seven Holds; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $79.25. UBS maintained a Buy rating and raised its price target to $88.
• Meritage Homes exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.42 in EPS versus $1.30 expected, though revenue fell 14.1% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,431 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,216,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTH. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,540,000. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,880,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Meritage Homes during the 1st quarter worth approximately $916,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,003,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meritage Homes in the 1st quarter valued at $6,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Meritage Homes from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Meritage Homes from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Meritage Homes from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

MTH opened at $73.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.40. Meritage Homes Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.03 and a 1 year high of $85.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The construction company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The firm's revenue was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes Corporation will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company's core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

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